BA in History

History offers a major that leads to a bachelor of arts degree and a minor for students majoring in other disciplines. The major consists of 39 credit hours in history plus a foreign language requirement. The minor consists of 18 credit hours in history. In addition, the Department offers an internship program in cooperation with area historical societies, museums, libraries, and other institutions.

Majors should, after consultation with an advisor, focus at least three of their history electives (300-level courses) upon a particular country, continent, era, or theme of their choosing and select courses from other departments that complement this concentration.

College Level Equivalency Program (CLEP) examinations are available in Western Civilization and United States History. Unusually well-prepared entering students who pass one or more of these examinations may substitute 300-level course(s) for the HTY 101/102 and/or HTY 121/122/123 introductory surveys.

A history major or minor must achieve at least six credits of B or better grades in history courses. No grade of D will count toward fulfillment of a history major or minor. Majors and minors are reminded that, in addition to History requirements, they must also meet those of the University Core curriculum.

Requirements

History Requirements

To graduate with a bachelor of arts in history, a student must successfully complete a minimum of 39 credits in history courses as follows:

Field I HTY 101 Western Civilization I HTY 102 Western Civilization II

Field II (complete one of the following pairings) HTY 121 and one other: HTY 122, 123, or 142 HTY 122 and one other: HTY 121, 123, 141, or 142 HTY 123 and one other: HTY 121, 122, or 141 HTY 141 and one other: HTY 122, 123, or 142 HTY 142 and one other: HTY 121, 122, or 141

Select five 303-399 level courses in consultation with your major History advisor.

History will occasionally double-list upper-level courses from other. History majors may count only one course offered by another department and double-listed as a history course as fulfilling a history major requirement. HTY 400 Senior Seminar

Foreign Language/Foreign Culture Requirement

This requirement can be fulfilled in several ways: by achieving a grade of at least C- in the final semester of an intermediate-level course or by examination, or by achieving a grade of at least C- in the final semester of a beginning-level course or by examination, together with either approved international programs and study abroad experiences or approved other upper-level courses. Students majoring in History must accomplish one of the following, and must consult with their advisor about these options.

Completion of one of the following courses at USM with a grade of at least C- fulfills the language requirement:

Completion of a foreign language at the beginning level with a grade of at least C- in the final semester or the equivalent by examination, plus an approved one-semester study experience of six credit hours in a non-English-speaking country. This study must be discussed with the student's academic advisor, and be approved by the Chair of the Department of History and Political Science.

Completion of a foreign language at the beginning level with a grade of at least C- in the final semester or the equivalent by examination, plus two additional courses or their six-credit-hour equivalent. These upper-level (300 or 400) courses may be from either the Department of History and Political Science, or from other departments, and their content must cover topics or areas of the world with a non-United States, non-European emphasis. These courses must be discussed with the student's academic advisor, and approved by the Chair of the Department of History and Political Science